The Perfect Fourth

Receptivity, Inclusiveness—3:4


Arising from the Perfect Fifth, the next harmonic in the Series creates another octave of the fundamental, this one at four times the fundamental’s frequency. The interval between the Perfect Fifth and that of this new octave is a Perfect Fourth. 

The Perfect Fourth receives the Perfect Fifth; through it, the Fifth arises yet also returns to the Octave, to the source. The Perfect Fourth is the Divine Mother, the musical embodiment of the Receiving Force; through Her all things arise, and to Her all things return. In a casting, the Perfect Fourth indicates a purposeful yielding, a taking in, an embrace. It can also indicate a fearful or unconscious submission if it arises or plays out unconsciously.

In the active suit of Brass, the hermeneutic for the Perfect Fourth is yielding; in the emotional suit of Strings, love; in the intellectual suit of Woodwinds, open-mindedness; in the physical suit of Percussion, welcome; and in the spiritual, holistic suit of Voices, compassion.

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